Donovan Ivory corralled the loose ball off the missed free throw and zipped a chest pass to Dylan Kurey, who then tossed it over to Wisconsin’s newly-minted Mr. Basketball.

The game was tied, the tension was extreme, the clock was running … 33 seconds to play … 30 … 25 … 20 … and as Kaukauna senior standout point guard Jordan McCabe calmly walked the ball across the half-court line, many of the 14,000 fans who had filled the three levels of Madison's Kohl Center cranked up the decibels and stood in anticipation.

The state’s flashiest player and one of its best had the ball in his hands with a championship on the line. Time to make some magic.

What happened next capped one of the great moments in the storied history of the WIAA boys state basketball tournament when McCabe’s contested layup off the glass with just four seconds remaining proved to be the game-winner as the top-ranked Ghosts edged sixth-ranked Milwaukee Washington 76-74 in an epic Division 2 state title clash.

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Jordan McCabe drives for the game-winning basket with four seconds remaining as Kaukauna beats Milwaukee Washington in the Division 2 state championship game in Madison.

“It was probably the weirdest moment in my entire life,” McCabe said after the game. “It went silent like nobody was in the gym, and it was just a folding chair like you’re sitting on right now, sitting in front of me. And I came off an imaginary ball screen that I’ve been doing since I was 6 or something crazy like that. And I was by myself in that gym.

“Didn’t know what was going to happen, but I knew the ball was going to go in the hole. The ‘Big Man’ has got a weird way of working things out.”

Two weeks have passed since the Ghosts’ memorable St. Patrick’s Day showdown against the Purgolders in Madison, and the buzz from McCabe’s final flurry remains a vivid highlight.

But should it be added to the tapestry of moments that are arguably considered to be the greatest of the tournament’s 103-year storyline – an exclusive collection that features players, shots and games that are entrenched as iconic when it comes to the Wisconsin prep hoops landscape?

Consider the legendary lineup:

Weaver’s shot

It was dubbed “the shot heard ’round the state” – a 55-foot heave from beyond the half-court line that caromed off the glass and fell through the hoop as the horn sounded.

And it turned Beloit Memorial’s LaMont Weaver into an instant living legend.

Weaver’s improbable bank shot in the 1969 state championship game against Neenah ignited a deafening roar from the UW Field House crowd and tied the title tilt 70-70 at the end of regulation. The junior guard went on to drain a pair of free throws with 36 seconds to play in double overtime to close out the scoring and lift the Purple Knights to a dramatic 80-79 victory in Madison.

Weaver, who finished with 25 points, raised both arms after sinking the now-famous shot and was quickly engulfed by teammates in celebration.

“It was the nature of the game, the timing of the shot,” Weaver told Post-Crescent Media in a 2009 story that commemorated the 40th anniversary of his incredible bucket. “Had I made that in the first quarter, it wouldn’t have been as significant as tying the game. Everything was right there like it was a movie. You couldn’t make a script any better than that. And that’s why the fans have enjoyed that game so much, why it’s such a memorable event.”

Dekker’s triple

Sheboygan Lutheran trailed its 2012 Division 5 state championship game against Racine Lutheran 60-51 with 1:50 to play.

Enter Sam Dekker.

The ballyhooed University of Wisconsin recruit buried a cold-blooded three near the right corner with six seconds remaining to secure an incredible 67-66 comeback victory for the Crusaders in front of a frenzied Kohl Center crowd.

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Sheboygan Lutheran star Sam Dekker hits a game-winning three-point shot in the waning moments of the 2012 WIAA Division 5 boys basketball state championship against Racine Lutheran at the Kohl Center in Madison.

Dekker, a 6-foot-8 senior and the state’s Mr. Basketball, scored his team’s final 12 points – all coming over the game’s closing 50 seconds – to finish with a Division 5 single-game tourney record 40 points on 16-of-28 shooting. He hit three three-pointers over that stretch and tallied 13 rebounds and three blocks overall.

The Crusaders were down 65-64 following Dekker’s three with 15 seconds to play. Racine Lutheran was fouled and hit one of its two free throw attempts to set up the final sequence.

Dekker took the inbounds pass, dribbled behind his back and through a double team and then maneuvered his way toward the right corner where he let it fly.

Splash.

Sam Dekker led Sheboygan Lutheran to the WIAA Division 5 boys state basketball title in 2012, scoring 12 points in the game’s closing 50 seconds to lead a comeback win.(Photo: Wm. Glasheen/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

A final half-court fling was off-target, and Dekker raised both arms in triumph as fans cheered wildly and the horn sounded.

“I just wanted to win state at least one time in my high school career,” Dekker said afterward. “I couldn’t ask for anything more, the way it ended.”

Dekker’s 2,593 career points rank fourth in state history.

Pieper battles Okey

The 1993 Division 4 state championship game pitted small-town powers Wausaukee and Cassville.

But it was Anthony Pieper vs. Sam Okey that had state hoops enthusiasts cramming the UW Field House or glued to their TVs.

Pieper outdueled Okey in leading the Rangers to a 69-57 victory over the Comets. The 6-3 Wausaukee senior guard and Marquette University recruit poured in a Division 4 single-game tournament record 42 points on 15-of-29 shooting and tacked on four assists, while Okey, a 6-6 sophomore center, finished with 33 points on 15-of-32 shooting. Okey, who would play collegiately at Wisconsin and Iowa, added 15 rebounds and six blocks and scored 24-straight points during an amazing stretch that spanned the second, third and fourth quarters.

He scored the Comets’ final five points of the second quarter, all 13 of their third-quarter points and six consecutive points to open the fourth.

Pieper and Okey embraced when the Cassville star fouled out with 51 seconds remaining.

“He’s the best ballplayer I’ve ever played against,” said Okey, who would lead Cassville to Division 4 state championships the following two seasons. “I just hope that someday I can be half the player he is.”

Added Pieper: “It was the kind of game that I’ll be able to look back on and feel good about. I couldn’t ask for anything more. … I feel so great for our team and the whole town.”

The two remain state prep hoops giants.

Pieper’s 3,391 career points are the most in Wisconsin high school basketball history. Okey’s 2,539 points rank fifth. Both are also past Mr. Basketball winners.

McCabe’s finish

The 6-1 McCabe has been hyped since he was a kid when he was first a dribbling and jump rope prodigy whose viral videos led to halftime performances at college basketball games and a TV appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” He was even drafted by the Harlem Globetrotters through their “future discovery clause,” and his bevy of mixtapes that showcase his flare, confidence and Maravich-like skills are YouTube hits.

Jordan McCabe at 10 years old. The Kaukauna standout has been hyped since he was a kid, when he was first a dribbling and jump rope prodigy who performed at halftime of college basketball games and even appeared on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”(Photo: Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

The entire package is why McCabe, a West Virginia University recruit who led the Ghosts to the Division 2 title in 2016, will be considered one of the most compelling, scrutinized, polarizing and exciting high school players the state has ever seen.

And it’s why he had the Kohl Center crowd on the verge of erupting and on its feet as he dribbled out the clock with the Division 2 championship deadlocked.

The Ghosts had four players spaced along the baseline in a 1-4 low set when Kurey jogged high to set a ball screen near the top of the three-point arc as McCabe darted to his left with eight seconds to play.

Purgolders 6-9 standout freshman Michael Foster Jr. helped off the screen, but McCabe’s slight hesitation created enough of a crease for him to get by Foster and drive hard to the basket.

Once he got to the block, McCabe switched the ball to his right hand, twisted and lofted a shot off his fingertips that floated above Foster’s outstretched arm. The ball glanced high off the backboard but had enough spin to softly bounce on the rim and fall through.

The crescendo in the ovation of the crowd sounded like the roar of a jet engine. And when Foster’s desperation three-point attempt sailed over the rim as the horn sounded, McCabe hopped atop the press row table and celebrated as the Kohl Center rocked.

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Kaukauna senior point guard Jordan McCabe celebrates following the Ghosts' WIAA Division 2 state championship victory over Milwaukee Washington on Saturday at the Kohl Center in Madison.

McCabe, the state’s Associated Press player of the year whose 2,442 career points rank sixth all-time, nearly completed a triple-double with 32 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists.

Critics will note that he struggled with his shot throughout the game (10-of-33 overall), but he was clutch in crunch time, draining his final three looks – two of which were threes during a 22-second spurt – and scoring the Ghosts’ final eight points over the last 1:10 of what was a see-saw battle. His steal along the sideline and subsequent underhanded flick to Keaton Ferris in the corner set up a Ferris three-pointer that tied the game 68-68 with 2:08 to play.

“The last few possessions, the way I looked at it, we came out of a TV timeout at the end – I think there was 2:54 (to go),” McCabe said recently on USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin’s Varsity Roundtable show. “Our seniors kind of got us together, and we talked just a little bit. Probably yelled more than talked because it was pretty loud in there.

“We knew it was going to be all about heart. And we knew that we had put so much time into this season that going out any way other than a win would be unjust to our season and everything that we put in. We did everything we could, and every shot that we put up happened to drop late – and that’s what we needed.

“We’re very blessed to be in the position we are because we played a very, very good team.”

A fleeting memory or a forever, historic moment? How will history determine McCabe’s place among the greatest of legends?

How will you?

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Kaukauna High School players celebrate after defeating Milwaukee Washington High School 76 to 74 during their WIAA Division 2 state championship boys basketball game on Saturday, March 17, 2018 at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis.
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Kaukauna High School against Milwaukee Washington High School during their WIAA Division 2 state championship boys basketball game on Saturday, March 17, 2018 at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis.
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Kaukauna players huddle before their game against Milwaukee Washington in the Division 2 championship game at the WIAA 2018 state boys basketball tournament at the Kohl Center on Saturday, March 17, 2018 in Madison, Wis.
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Kaukauna players take the court for their game against Milwaukee Washington in the Division 2 championship game at the WIAA 2018 state boys basketball tournament at the Kohl Center on Saturday, March 17, 2018 in Madison, Wis.
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Milwaukee Washington players are introduced for the Division 2 championship game at the WIAA 2018 state boys basketball tournament at the Kohl Center on Saturday, March 17, 2018 in Madison, Wis.(Photo: Adam Wesley/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

Students from the Milwaukee Washington and Brookfield East sections reach across the barrier between their sections while both cheering for Washington late in the Division 2 championship game against Kaukauna at the WIAA 2018 state boys basketball tournament at the Kohl Center on Saturday, March 17, 2018 in Madison, Wis.
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